Islam versus Europe

Kiel. A nice currywurst or a few crispy Wiener sausages at mid-day – this is something more and more children at state nurseries have to do without. The reason: in many day nurseries there are children from Muslim families, and as, according to Islamic belief, pork is seen as impure, consuming it is not “halal” (allowed) and thus forbidden.

Particularly in nurseries on the east bank, where the proportion of Muslim children is especially high, bratwurst and meatballs are offered exclusively in chicken and beef versions. “Generally we don’t have pork, as we have lots of children from an immigrant background. There were attempts to incorporate pork into the menu but it provoked irritation among the parents,” confirms Regina Baumann, director of the Marienwerder Straße nursery in Kiel-Wellingdorf.

There were also objections to ribs and schnitzel on the west bank in the Goethestraße nursery. "The parents didn’t want it. Otherwise we would have had to cook extra for Muslim children,” explains director Oliver Kaiser. He estimates the proportion with an immigrant background at just ten per cent.

The Sternschnuppe nursery in Gaarden opposite the HDW shipyards is also a pork-free zone, as is the Evangelical nursery Michaelis in Hassee. Before, when the proportion of Muslim children was not as high, there were “two meals”, recalls Ulrike Krauel from the Office for Schools, Nurseries and Youth Institutions. “But because the chicken and pork sausages were of different sizes, we had problems explaining that to the children”. Then pork was axed, especially in districts like Gaarden and Mettenhof.

But the pork ban doesn’t apply just in nurseries. Now it seems the currywurst clause also plays a role when searching for rental accommodation, as ever more homes on the west bank are being taken over by Muslims. According to this newspaper’s information, an Afghan landlord close to the Sultan market in Elisabethstraße is offering homes with the condition of no pork meat.

In view of the scarcity of accommodation on the west bank, this prohibition represents a culinary challenge especially for students looking for accommodation. The problem: while not a few Kiel politicians in the Muslim dominated district of Gaarden would have nothing against a certain gentrification, the new property owners themselves, through clauses such as this, are acting to prevent a mixing of the population structure.

Until now the so-called Islam clause has provoked controversy mainly in the rental of commercial property across Germany; now Muslim landlords are seeking to assert it even in homes in Gaarden. But in contrast to commercial rentals, this rule is not legitimate, as Jochen Kiersch from the Kieler Tenant’s Association confirms: "That is not permitted and renders a rental contract invalid."